The Strongest of Bonds
by KH777
Summary: Based after Conquest route so beware of SPOILERS. The Nohrian Royal family is busying themselves rebuilding the kingdom and enjoying the peace they worked so hard for. But what happens when Corrin is injured by people who weren't so certain of Nohr's new moral ways?


This is a _Fire Emblem Fates_ fan fiction. **Based after conquest route so beware of** _ **spoilers**_ **!** **I'm using quite a bit of information for the supports between siblings so spoilers for that too!** Okay, this is the second longest fan fiction I've ever written (technically the longest since my other was two parts and barely longer.) Ages might not be accurate since I don't know their actual ages. I used the default male Corrin and the default voice, as I do for all my Fates fan fictions (and as I did in the game.) Btw, this is not a remake of my other story Family Bonds. Silas is one of Corrin's retainers in this story since he is awesome (even though I couldn't find a place to include him in the story.) _**This is by no means meant to be anything other than love between siblings, it is by no means yaoi or yuri or romance of any kind.**_

Today was just supposed to be another day, just another day of rebuilding the, now peaceful, kingdom of Nohr. Not only had Xander made many programs to help the blight of the people, but also Corrin and Elise went down at least once a week to feed the residents of the capital personally. The once oppressed people of Nohr were now praising Xander.

Well, at least most of them were. Some people were not quite so forgiving, or did not simply believe Xander was as moral as he was 'acting.' When people full of hate band together, the results can be terrifying. As the Nohrian royals were about to experience for themselves.

As nineteen-year-old Corrin walked through the palace, he couldn't help but stop at one place on the way. There was a pool about twelve feet deep that was used for swimming practice. One of these days Corrin wanted to learn how to swim. Leo and Xander were both proficient in swimming, and all his siblings knew how to swim. Water was such a beautiful thing; so, Corrin wished to use this medium to spend time with his siblings.

Getting down on his knees, Corrin took off the glove on one of his hands and dipped it in the water. It was cool but not cold. Since the pool was indoors, he made a mental note to remember this place when he was hot. He however, did not get far with this thought before he fell face first into the water.

Whether it was because he had tripped or someone had pushed him, he had no idea. The only concern on his mind was how to get back up to the top. His lack of knowledge of how to go about this and his armor was weighing him down like a brick. When he reached the bottom, his foot _got stuck_ under something. Corrin seriously regretted not wearing armor on his bare foot now. He tried to free his foot but it was useless, he was trapped. After all he had been through, was this really the way he was going to die…? He thought as his consciousness began to fade.

….

Seventeen-year-old Leo had been reading Byrnhildr nearby. Hearing an all too familiar yelp, Leo's whole being was fully alert in less than a second. He rushed into the room, feeling the power of the book in his hand flowing through his whole body. He frowned when he met with not a soul.

A speck of blue caught his eye and it only took him a moment to register what had happened. He dropped Byrnhildr and starting tearing off great hunks of his armor, damaging many chairs and such in his wake. Ugh, he had no time for this! Ignoring the rest of the weight, he dove in the water. With powerful strokes, he made it to the bottom and found what, or more like whom, he was looking for.

Seeing the problem, Leo acted swiftly, managing to tear his foot from under something unknown. His mind only began to break his calm demeanor when he tried to pull his unmoving brother to the surface.

It was the _armor_! The armor on the two of them was making the two of them moved at what felt like the pace of a snail. It certainly didn't help that Leo could only swim with one arm. For once in his life, Leo despised the suit that attached to himself and protected him. His hate only grew stronger, and his panic, when he tossed off more of his own armor and began to do the same to his older brother.

Finally, with some of the weight removed, Leo managed to get the surface. Almost having reached his limit, he coughed and dragged the two of them onto solid ground. Thankfully, it was barely elevated above the pool itself. That was when he realized one thing: Corrin was not coughing.

Before his mind could go into a frenzy, he remembered a book he was reading an hour or two ago. It was about new discoveries in different fields of science and medicine. One of them was how to save the life of someone who had almost drowned. Leo realized that he might severely injure his brother enacting on what he read but he had had no other choice.

( _Okay, Leo_ _ **did not**_ _, I repeat,_ _ **did not**_ _,_ __ _give Corrin mouth to mouth. He did not. I'm making that completely clear if it was not.)_

All Leo could do is gasp a sigh of relief when Corrin began to start coughing weakly. All the pent up feelings escaped and so did all of his energy. Abruptly feeling dizzy, he also lost consciousness and fell backwards on the ground.

…

"Will they be okay?" Elise concerned. Elise and Camilla had found the two of them and brought them to Xander's best doctor. Corrin and Leo were both sleeping soundly in hospital-like beds in front of the two. The doctor was a friend of Xander's. "Corrin was breathing all funny." Elise added.

"They will be fine." The doctor assured.

The concerned glances of the worried sisters immediately turned into relief and joy. Grabbing her sister's hands, the fourteen-year-old jumped up and down.

"Did you hear that?! Did you hear that?! They're okay!" She almost squealed.

"Of course, darling." Camilla replied, "I wouldn't know what to do if something happened to any of our dear brothers."

Once Elise had calmed down the doctor continued.

"But-"

"There's a _but?!_ " Elise yelped, suddenly becoming concerned again. Camilla gently put her hand on her younger sister's shoulder to tell her to let the doctor continue.

"Several of his bones in the chest area were broken. Bones there are vital so by no means can you move him or allow him to move."

"What about Leo?" Camilla asked.

"Lord Leo is fine. Perhaps a bit dizzy from almost drowning but he is uninjured."

"B-but, if they both almost drowned then why were some of Corrin's bones all broken?" Elise asked innocently.

"I apologize Milady, but I don't know why."

The doctor could sense the ominous aura beginning to well up inside the oldest Nohrian princess.

"Uh, I'll take my leave now. I'll come back to check on them soon."

After that was said, the doctor promptly left the room.

"What do you think happened?" Elise questioned.

"I don't know, dear. But I'II find out soon enough." Camilla gently patted Elise's head. Elise seemed to not notice the malice in the last sentence. Or just knew her sister well enough for her to not even be affected by such words. After all, Camilla _never_ directed her rage at her beloved siblings.

Less than a minute later, King Xander pushed open the open with a bit more force than necessary, more than a little concern evident on his features.

"What happened here!?"

"Don't worry, darling, both of our brothers will be fine." Camilla assured.

Xander straightened almost instantly, smiling a little before regaining most of his composure. Trying to seem like the calm, stone-faced, but kind king of Nohr instead of an older brother worried for his younger siblings.

"But Corrin's bones got all broken." Elise added sadly.

"Which bones?" Xander asked, frown deepening worse than usual.

Elise frowned too but hers turned more into a small, worried pout as she pointed down at Corrin's midsection.

"We found them both soaked with water, unconscious, right outside of the pool." Camilla explained.

It was silent for more than a few moments as Xander rolled the information he had just received around in his mind.

"B-but at least Leo's okay!" Elise smiled, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.

"Yes, that is quite fortunate." Xander agreed. "Perhaps he can explain the situation when he awakens."

"Oh and the doctor said that he can't be moved, like at all." Elise said. Xander nodded, knowing quite a bit of medical knowledge from his education.

A soft groan caught the attention of the siblings present. Elise hurried over to Leo's bedside as he opened his eyes.

"Leo!" She smiled. Camilla stood next to Elise while Xander approached from a bit further back. Leo's gaze directed up at his little sister. He blinked several times, trying to dissipate the dizziness he felt.

"Are you alright?" Camilla asked.

"I'm fine." Leo assured, carefully sitting himself up. "What happened to Corrin? Is he-"

"He'll be alright, dear. But unfortunately, he has broken several bones in his chest."

Leo flinched back just slightly, grimacing.

"Do you know how this happened, Leo?" Xander asked carefully.

Leo refused to look Xander in the eye and was silent for a few moments, picking his words carefully. Xander could easily see the glint of guilt in his eyes. Despite his unapproachable exterior, he paid extra close attention to his siblings. Even Camilla, who constantly dotted on them, could not stump him with her questions.

"There was a book I read today about the discoveries made this year about science and fields of medicine-"

"What does that have to do with what happened?!" Elise piped up, a bit too eager.

Xander saw the connection immediately but made no assumptions.

"I _was_ getting to that. Be a little more patient, Sister." Leo retorted.

"Sorry." She smiled, sheepishly.

"I was walking through the halls of the castle when I heard a yelp that sounded too much like Corrin's. When I went to investigate-"

Leo paused a moment more, glancing over at Elise for a split second before continuing.

"…I didn't see anyone. All I saw was a bit of Corrin's cloak of the side of the pool-" Elise gasped but Leo ignored her and continued. "Assuming he must be in the water, I dove in to save him. When I finally managed to pull us both out he…"

Leo stopped, hesitating on what he was about to say. After a full minute, Elise chimed in, since the suspense was killing her.

"What happened to him?!"

"…He wasn't coughing or moving at all. I thought he might be already dead."

"W-what?!" Elise stammered as Xander's frown grew yet deeper. Camilla seemed just as concerned and shocked as Elise. Somehow the reaction his siblings gave, robbed Leo of his words. He was speechless. How could he tell them that his injuries were caused by himself? Luckily, Xander understood and answered for him.

"There was a medical procedure in the book where it told of how to rescue a drowned person. You knew it was risky, but with no other options, you decided to perform it yourself. You managed to save his life but not without… breaking a bone or two. Isn't that right, Leo?"

Leo gave a nod but wasn't making eye contact with any of his siblings.

Camilla was the first to react. She carefully walked behind Leo, slipped her fingers underneath the little armor that remained on his shoulders, and started gently massaging them.

"Darling, you don't have anything to feel guilty for. You did nothing wrong, without you, our sweet brother would be dead."

Leo regularly would have told her to stop, he didn't need her coddling him, but right now he couldn't. Mostly because he felt no right after what happened but also because his shoulders were becoming somewhat sore. The dizziness he felt was far more evident in his mind but he wished to hide that as long as possible.

Elise was the second to chime in.

"Of course it wasn't your fault! You saved him, Leo! You're amazing!" Elise praised, smiling vibrantly.

"Yes, I am impressed, as well. Your actions were completely reasonable and justified."

Leo looked up.

"I don't need such encouraging words. I'm fine, I assure you." Leo claimed. "All that matters is that Corrin is alive, whether I feel guilty or not is secondary."

Xander had complimented Leo more than he used to since they had that conversation about how Leo felt he was in Xander's shadow. He sometimes struggled with self-esteem issues because of it. Now, Leo realized how much of a fool he'd been to not realize that he'd been pressuring his older brother. He was so stuck in his own pride that he didn't even believe it at first, but he easily did now. How could twenty-four-year-old Xander not feel pressured when Leo was right behind him even with s _even whole years_ difference. There was an obvious reason why people called him a genius.

The problems have since gotten better, not only because his life was better but also because of Xander's compliments. Leo was a tiny bit dumbfounded at first at how sneaky Xander at been, steadily increasing his compliments to fix his damaged self-esteem. It was surprisingly effective as well. After all, Leo would not allow himself to be coddled along but he really couldn't do anything this way.

After Leo spoke, Camilla, knowing her opportunity to be affectionate was over, retreated back over next to Elise. With Leo, and all of her younger siblings, she took ever single chance that presented itself, especially with Leo, because this didn't happen often.

A knock resounded on the door.

"Come in." Xander said.

Xander's retainer Laslow walked into the room.

"Uh, I hate to interrupt Milord, but a certain noble has requested your presence."

Xander knew exactly who that was and honestly was not looking forward to it. This certain noble had given Xander much funding for helping the blight of his people, but it did not come without a price. He knew he had authority and spoke out of turn much more often than Xander would have liked. This, however, was not what got under the King of Nohr's skin, what did was how he questioned the loyalty of his siblings.

He was not a fool and wasn't oblivious to the scheming royal families had done to each other in the past. How could he be when all of them had been subject to this? Well, except for Corrin who was adopted into their family. Still, he knew and loved all of his siblings and never had even a sliver of doubt about any of them, hence, why his words had bugged Xander greatly.

Most of his suspicious were actually based towards Leo. He thought that Corrin and Elise were too native and Camilla was too dotting to think of such things. No doubt he was going to blame Leo for Corrin's injuries somehow. Perhaps from the common misconception that Leo was older than Corrin.

"He also requests all of you to be present." Laslow added. "I warned him of the consequences but he says he assumes all responsibility for what results."

Well, that just went from bad to worse. Xander concerned of Camilla's ability of restraint in the face of such accusations. Xander needed the funding, but he was certain this wouldn't end well. Leo had met this man a few times, enough to know the problem. However, Elise and Camilla were clueless.

"What's wrong with that?" Elise asked.

"Lord Luke is quite… open with his opinion." Xander began.

"That's one way of putting it." Leo gave a wry smile. "Let's just say it's likely that he's going to accuse me of trying to hurt Corrin."

"Whhhat!? Why?" Elise shocked.

"That's just how he is." Xander explained. "I've tried to appease him since he helps fund much of my efforts to rescue the economy."

Xander then turned his attention to his older sister.

"Please, try to exercise as much restraint as you are able. We haven't the time to search for another donor."

"I'll try my best." Camilla reassured.

Carefully standing up, Leo ignored the dizziness he felt. Xander noticed that Leo was not feeling like himself by his posture and demeanor, so he made a mental note to keep an eye on him.

"Well, let's hope Corrin's bones are the only that are broken today." Leo commented as the royals exited the room.

….

Leo honestly didn't understand if Luke was being brave or just acting like a fool. Maybe it was because he knew his Majesty needed his help, but it wasn't like he couldn't get other donors. He ignored the glare of the smaller, shorter man.

"I'm glad you could come today, your Majesty."

"Yes, I would like this to be brief if possible."

He felt a tad uncomfortable leaving Corrin alone with Laslow even though they were close by. Even though, he hadn't discussed this with his siblings yet, he was certain it had crossed all of their minds. Had someone tried to cause their beloved brother harm? Or had he just been clumsy and fell? Leo's explanation did nothing to answer or even ease the question, as he knew no more than them.

"I can be brief. I was just _wondering_ if the rumors I'd heard were true."

Luke glared at Leo, obviously implying his involvement. Camilla in turn gave one of her signature demonic grins, daring him to accuse her sweet baby brothers of hurting each other. He was unfazed unfortunately.

"I'm afraid so, though little information have been gathered so far."

Xander didn't know exactly how, but he always seemed to be in tune with what was going on in the castle.

"It is quite strange that _no one_ was there to witness the event, don't you agree?"

"Yes, it is quite strange that no servants were there to help our poor brothers." Camilla responded for him.

"I wonder how you came to know of what happened so quickly then?" Leo added.

"And I wonder how someone could _possibly_ believe that attacking someone could result in anything but them getting hurt."

Elise was tired of these implications and she puffed her cheeks angrily.

"You're just being a big meanie! He's knowledgeable about a whole bunch of things!"

He glanced at Elise like she was a child who had interrupted the conversation of adults.

"May I see such a book then?"

Leo scowled. He knew this was going to happen.

"Unfortunately, I had just finished it and lent it to another."

"Hmm? You have no proof to defend yourself? How careless."

"If you bring me another copy I could…"

Trailing off, Leo held his head and closed his eyes, becoming a bit wobbly. He could hear the voices of his siblings echoing around him but weren't registering to his mind. Trying to hold onto consciousness was impossible for him and he phased out of consciousness yet again. Luckily, Camilla prevented him from falling and held him against herself.

There were only two things keeping Camilla from turning into terrifying Camilla: a veil of restraint about the width of a fingernail and the fact that she couldn't do anything without setting Leo down.

"Could you care for Leo please?" Xander asked, out of concern for his brother and wanting her to leave before violence did actually break out. "Elise, go with her."

The two sisters nodded and left.

…

Luckily, the doctor had returned to check back on Corrin.

"Hey! You said Leo was okay and he fainted!" Elise accused.

"Hmm… Let me do another check-up, Milady."

Setting Leo down, Camilla stepped back, followed by Elise.

After a few minutes, Elise spoke up again.

"What's wrong with him?"

"Since Lord Leo is still recovering, it seems that anything stressful might cause him to faint for the next couple days. He just needs some rest."

"Okay, good." Elise smiled.

"Oh, poor thing. That awful man must have made him nervous." Camilla said.

"What about Corrin?"

"Lord Corrin's condition has improved a little but he seems a bit restless. He might wake up sooner than expected."

"Thank you." Camilla said as the doctor left the room. Elise and Camilla stood next to Corrin's bedside, looking him over.

"He doesn't look any different to me." Elise said. "But if the doctor said he was restless..."

"I hope he's not having a nightmare." Camilla commented. Corrin did occaionally have nightmares here and there. Elise kneeled down next to him.

Before the conversation had an oppurtunity to continue, however, Corrin's eyes opened slowly.

"Oh hey, you're awake!" Elise shocked, prompting her older sister to kneel down beside her, as to not strain Corrin. After her surprise faded, Elise gave a warm smile. He returned her smile weakly. Her very presence seemed to calm his currently unsettled nerves.

"...wh-what... happened...?" He managed weakly, his voice coming out a bit raspy.

The two glanced uncertainly to each other.

"Well, you fell into the pool and Leo saved you." Elise explained, being as brief as possible.

Yes, the memories were coming back to him now. Leo saved him? Where was he right now?

"Don't worry about him dear, he's just resting." Camilla reassured.

Before Corrin could even think about Xander, he came into the room.

"Corrin?" He muttered, but swiftly moved himself to sit on the empty hospital bed behind his sisters.

Corrin smiled at his presence. Even though his whole midsection felt like it was on fire, he tried not to let it show as to worry his siblings even more than they already were.

"…I…I'm sorry… for causing trouble…" Corrin spoke again, even though each of his words was painful to say. He'd feel absolutely awful if all this had happened just because he was being careless.

"It's no trouble at all, Little Prince." Xander reassured.

"Yeah, don't worry about it!" Elise smiled.

"None of us felt you caused any trouble." Camilla reaffirmed. "Not even Leo."

Smiling gently one more time, Corrin again drifted back into the realm of sleep.

After several minutes of silence and readjusting themselves, Camilla began the conversation again.

"I have a feelings that things didn't did go over well."

"No." Xander frowned. "He demands we present him with the part in the book where it states the new medical procedure."

"Oh, c'mon! Don't we have enough problems!?" Elise exclaimed. "Can't you just like, not do it?" Elise asked.

"Unfortunately not, he is a very petty man."

"But how are we supposed to-"

"I can get it…"

A mutter came from a ways in front of them.

"Leo?" Elise shocked, rushing over to him, and seeing that he was carefully sitting himself up. "Hey, don't push yourself or you'll just pass out again."

"I'm fine." Leo brushed her off. "I can get the book back." He repeated.

"You can't just go buy another one?" Camilla asked.

"No, the book hasn't officially come out yet and won't for another month." Leo responded.

"Well, then I have a plan." Xander announced. "Leo, you should stay here with me." Before Leo could object Xander continued.

"I need you here. After the incident had happened, I'd sent many of our retainers to go searching for information. They're due to come back soon and I need your help sorting through it." Xander explained. "We can't have any of us going anywhere alone either. Camilla and Elise can go retrieve the book."

"Alright." Leo agreed, enjoying the feeling of being needed by his older brother. "Let me write down how to do that."

Xander, always prepared, handed Leo a piece of paper and an extra writing utensil. Leo began scribbling mostly neatly on the piece of paper, using the small desk next to him as a hard surface. Soon after, he handed the piece of paper to Camilla. She read it as Elise did as well.

"Do you understand?" Leo asked.

"Yep." Elise smiled, while Camilla nodded. As the two went to leave Xander said one more thing.

"Use extreme caution, if need be, bring your retainers with you as well."

"Of course, but don't be concerned darling, I won't allow anymore harm to come to any us." Camilla smiled.

With that, the two set off. Leo carefully made his way over to a larger desk that Xander was sitting at. Honestly, he was still quite humiliated from fainting in front of his siblings, especially Xander, and that man, but he tried not to show it. He grabbed a chair from off to the side and pulled it up to the desk.

"Have you found any information so far?" Leo asked.

"Not very much I'm afraid."

The two had only gotten to work for a few minutes when Leo's two retainers, Odin and Niles, burst into the room.

"Lord Leo! I am so relieved to see you are safe! I've been so worried that the dark storms swirling within me were becoming almost too much to bear the weight!" Odin announced.

"I'm glad to see you're alright. We have both been terribly worried ever since we heard of what had happened to you." Niles added.

"Ugh! Give me some space, you two!" Leo ordered, being sharper than usual, probably due to the presence of Xander and his damaged ego from earlier.

However, the two didn't seem to be phased and they moved further back, apologizing as they went.

Xander thought the behavior was a bit strange since he'd already told them that Leo was alright. But, he supposed that seeing that he was alright was much more reassuring than being told he was. Out of respect for his brother, he quickly changed the subject.

"What information did you gather?"

Odin and Niles produced several pages of notes. Odin gave his to Leo and Niles to Xander. Leo was honestly impressed by the sheer amount of raw information written on these notes. He supposed word of something like this was ought to travel incredibly fast.

"Good job, Odin, Niles." Leo complimented, setting the notes on the desk.

"I see several parts of your armor are missing, Milord. I would gladly dive into the depths of the ocean to retrieve them for y-" Odin grinned.

"No." Leo said, perhaps a bit too quickly. "My armor is easily replaced and you are needed elsewhere."

He had no desire to have any more incidents with water and had no clue how good of a swimmer Odin was. Besides for drinking and bathing, he didn't want to see any of it for several weeks at least.

"What do you command of us then, Milord?" Niles asked.

"Stand guard at the door." Leo said. He was certain that Xander had other retainers scouring for any information they could find, so thought it wise to have some protection.

"Your wish is our command." Odin said, as the two made their out just outside of the door.

"A wise decision," Xander commented. Leo noticed again on his efforts to fix his embarrassment but he tried to ignore the fact.

The two brothers began to work.

….

"So, Big Sister, are we almost there?" Elise asked.

"Yes, we're nearing it right now."

The two sisters were heading through the noble district to retrieve said book. Selena and Arthur were protecting their path from the front, a bit ahead of the two princesses, while Beruka and Effie were protecting them from the back.

"Here we are." Camilla announced, strolling up to the door and knocking on it with Elise close behind. The door opened to reveal a man about the age of Camilla, maybe a bit older. One thing that stood out was probably his aura of intellectuality.

"Oh, Lady Camilla and Lady Elise, what brings you here today?"

"We need the book back that Leo gave you." Elise said.

"Already? But I haven't qu-"

"I'm _sorry_ , but my dear brother _needs_ that book _right now._ " Camilla said, sickeningly sweet. She was in quite a bad mood from current events and wasn't feeling patient.

"A-ah, yes of course, Milady, I'll go retrieve it right away."

 _Now that was the correct response._ Camilla thought, thinking back to that annoying little man.

"Thank you." Elise smiled, as he returned, handed the book to Camilla and left the two ladies.

"Oh wow! That book is huuuuuuge!" Elise commented. "How the heck did Leo read _all of that_ , already?! Wow, he's amazing!"

"That's our Leo." Camilla smiled.

…

"From the various sources we've gathered, we can almost certainly ascertain that this incident was no accident." Xander frowned, wishing that what he was saying was anything but the truth but knew that was folly.

"I'd have to agree. This person must have been disguised as one of the servants on staff or one of the guards." Leo agreed.

There was a specific reason why this person had assaulted Corrin and both siblings knew it but didn't want to speak of it out loud. The siblings all loved each other immensely, but Corrin was like the focal point. This person felt that if Corrin were to go, the whole family would fall apart. The reason neither wanted to speak of it was simply because it had more than a grain of truth in it. However, no matter what sibling would have died, it would have greatly affected their family either way. It's just that Corrin's would do more damage. Xander knew of Leo's occasional feelings of jealously for Corrin and didn't feel the need to bring up that negative emotion.

"Hmm, I'll make sure to more strictly regulate this area."

"It's not that you don't have it regulated enough, this mystery person just knows how to abuse the system. Look here."

Leo pointed to a specific sentence on one of the pages.

"...L-leo…"

Both of them abruptly stopped what they were doing to gaze over at the source of the noise, their injured brother. Leo made his way over and kneeled in front of Corrin just as Elise and Camilla had done. Xander refrained from getting too close.

"….Th-thank… you…"

For some reason, his older brother's words made Leo a bit embarrassed, though he shouldn't have been. This was Corrin after all. Maybe it was the fact that Leo knew that each word Corrin said was precious since it hurt so much to say.

"I-I just did what any of us would have done." Leo replied. Corrin just smiled, knowing Leo all too well. Really though, Leo didn't think he deserved much praise since he was the one who put him in this state, even if it had saved his life.

Corrin drifted back to slumber yet again. Leo, trying to hide his embarrassment changed the subject directly afterwards.

A little while later, the two Nohrian princesses returned with the book. Elise was holding it this time.

"Mission completed!" Elise smiled, delivering the book to Leo.

"This will only take a few minutes." Leo said, already flipping through the pages of the thick book.

"You didn't encounter any trouble along the way?" Xander asked.

"Nope!" Elise smiled. "Why, should've we?"

Camilla understood the meaning behind the question and her aura became extremely murderous but not towards her beloved siblings of course. This, however, still contributed to the air becoming thick. The only sound that was heard was the flipping of pages from Leo. Elise finally asks the question on everyone's mind.

"Don't tell me… Someone _did_ try to hurt Corrin…?" Elise worried.

Xander didn't answer for several moments as Leo looked up from his book.

"…Yes. We have concrete evidence from what our retainers gathered."

"Whhhhaaattt?! But why?! Corrin's always so nice to everyone!"

"This has nothing to do with his character." Leo remarked, probably a bit too harshly. The words felt so weird since he knew that it did have to do with his character, just not in the way Elise meant.

"Quite honestly, I suspected something like this would happen eventually. I just hoped it wouldn't." Xander said.

"Think about it this way Elise," Leo began. "Some people whose lives have been ruined by the old ways of Nohr are not quite so forgiving just because things have changed. However, most people aren't quite so violent with their dismay."

"I don't know what they hope to accomplish." Xander added. "Violence simply begets more violence."

"Oh _absolutely_ , I agree." Camilla smiled evilly but without malice. "But, you don't happen to know who did this to poor, sweet, Corrin though, do you?"

"We haven't gotten that far yet." Leo said, turning back to flipping pages in the book. "Ah, here it is."

Leo set the book down on the desk for all of his siblings to see. The three looked over the section of the book briefly.

"Yes, this should be enough to sate Lord Luke." Xander replied.

"Don`t we like, have bigger problems though...?" Elise muttered.

"I am aware. That is all the more reason to end this scrabble as swiftly as possible."

"So you plan to head over there right away?" Leo asked.

Xander was silent for a few moments.

"...Yes. But none of you are to leave this room. Even though none know of our presence here, we have no inkling as to the culprit yet and it could be any of the guards or servants."

"But what about you?" Camilla asked.

"Do not worry, I'll be sure to have adequate protection."

For some reason Leo had a bad feeling about this plan but decided to keep quiet. This needed to be dealt with before they could continue on to their much more important plans. It was unlikely Xander would change his mind anyway.

"Be careful." Leo advised.

"Yes, I'll be mindful and cautious as I'll expect from the three of you as well."

The three nodded in agreement and Xander left the room. Leo couldn't shake this negative feeling and this had done nothing to relieve him of it. He wondered if this feeling might be worth some warning after all.

A while later, Leo was busying himself with going through the rest of the notes he'd received from his retainers. Camilla was playing with Elise to try and calm her nerves.

Something is wrong. Something is going to happen. Leo's senses told him this expanding on his earlier feeling.

"Elise, Camilla-!" Leo called in warning just before the door crashed open. His senses told him to unleash Byrnhildr on the intruder but he scowled as he knew this space was too cramped for that notion. He'd be more likely to hit one of his sisters, or worse his brother, than the intruder. Unfortunately before he could take any action, faintness beckoned to him once again. Trying to fight it was fruitless, just as it'd been before, and he fainted, almost hitting the desk on the impact.

...

"...eo! Leo!" The sound of someone calling his name, snapped him back into awareness and he bolted upright.

"Woah!" Shocked the person to his left, whom he identified as Elise. "H-hey, are you okay?" She worried.

"I'm fine." Leo assured, shaking away the last bits of dizziness.

"Good, because you scared me half to death!" Elise pouted, but it turned into more of a worried pout-scowl.

"What happened?" Leo asked, scanning his surroundings with scrutiny.

"I don't know... It all happened so fast."

The fact that Elise didn't know anymore than he did hardly surprised Leo. After all, she also wielded magic and didn`t react as quick as Leo did. If he hadn't had fainted, he could have easily attacked the enemy _with_ Byrnhildr physically. Though it sounds a bit brutish, Byrnhildr was a heavy tome and had decent-sized chucks of metal on its covers. Camilla stood the best chance against this mystery person and the fact that the two of them were obviously imprisoned here did not bode well for her safety.

"D-do you think that Corrin and Camilla are... okay?"

Leo grimaced at the idea of some hater of Nohr out there being rough with Corrin. In his condition, they might accidentally kill him. Of course, he wasn't about to tell that to his little sister. As he'd learned by now, she put much trust in his opinion and the opinions of her siblings. He wasn't about to alarm her anymore of she already was.

"I don't know." Leo admitted. "One thing is for sure, we need to escape from here."

"How?" Elise questioned, already feeling hopeless and curling into a ball.

Thinking for a moment, a solution presented itself to him as he starred at the bars of the cell they were trapped in. The space between them was quite spacious, showcasing the age of this whole building. The place was probably meant for the typical big, burly criminal.

"Elise." Leo began. "Do you think you could fit through there?"

Looking up, Elise followed Leo's gaze and her eyes widened.

"Oh! That might actually work!" Elise smiled, hope renewed. "Big Brother, you're a genius!"

He hardly thought the idea was worthy of being called a genius, but he didn't care at the moment. Standing up, he checked the area for guards or any sign of people.

"Okay Elise, we're clear."

Elise nodded, putting on a determined expression and beginning to try to push herself through the bars. She had almost made it through when the puffy part of the bottom of her dress got stuck.

"Leo, help! I'm stuck!"

Attempting to push her the rest of the way, he was grateful that it was her dress that had gotten stuck and not one of her limbs. Eventually she fell forward outside the cell with a good portion of it ripped off. She didn't seem to mind though; since, she was never the petty type.

"Freedom!" She grinned, easily picking herself up off the ground.

"Hush, not too loud! Someone might hear you." Leo warned.

"Okay… what now?" Elise asked. "You're still stuck in there."

"The keys are probably somewhere around here." Leo replied. "But it's likely that they aren't going to be easy to get."

Leo frowned. If Elise was found who knows what these people would do to them. That didn't mean that they weren't going to try though. He worried about his sister's power of stealth but he had no choice but to trust her. Yanking off a large chunk of his armor, he handed it to Elise.

"If worse comes to worse, just hit them in the head with this." Leo said. "But please, be careful. You cannot be found."

"Ok, I understand." Elise nodded with that same determined expression. "I'll be right back with the keys."

Leo could only hope for the best as Elise disappeared from his site.

….

Camilla did not think it possible to bear any more feelings of fury when Corrin had been injured. Apparently, she had thought wrong. It certainly wasn't helping the fact that there was nothing to vent her on. Usually, she could take it out on the enemy, but they did not have that knowledge yet. She, of course, couldn't take it out on her beloved siblings so what did that leave her? It left her as a ticking time bomb just waiting for the right opportunity to explode.

She had been injured when her two younger siblings had been kidnapped, but they were not terribly serious. So, she bandaged herself up and hid them from view with her armor. Camilla couldn't believe she had allowed _anyone_ to take them away from her, even if there were several of them in a cramped space. The only thing she could feel relieved about was that she had managed to injure them enough so that they retreated before they could touch Corrin. If they had taken him, he could very well have died, even if they hadn't been rough or cruel. He couldn't be moved, he just couldn't.

Xander would be here momentarily. She needed to calm down and think intelligently, so that they could mount a rescue. Holding in her anger like this probably wasn't the best plan, but it was the only she could think of. It was bound to make her an absolute monster when the enemy did decide to rear its ugly head but nothing could be done about that.

She heard a soft groan that caught her attention. Corrin was waking up. Camilla was ever so grateful that he hadn't woken up during _that_. Now, she could just assure him that everything was alright, even if it wasn't. It would be, that was for sure. She would make sure of it.

"…B-big Sister…"

She could already tell that he was disturbed, probably by the messy state of the room. Actually the part of the room that he saw was nothing more than messy, since Camilla had cleaned it up for his sake. The other sides of the room, out of his vision, looked just about like a hurricane had come through them.

"Don't worry, Darling. Everything is okay." Camilla assured, gently running a hand through his hair.

"…r-really?"

"Yes, really. You should go back to sleep, you need your rest."

He didn't seem entirely convinced but was too lulled on by sleep to stay awake any longer. After Camilla had seen that he was asleep, she positioned herself in a chair and sighed. When she was this angry it was hard to be regular self, even to her adorable baby brother. Oh, she sincerely hoped that those _evil people_ weren't doing anything _mean_ to her other adorable siblings.

She really needed to vent somehow. The room was in a horrible state the way it is, no one would mind if she broke a thing or two would they? Ah, but what could she break without waking up Corrin? Spying a cracked chair leg on the floor, Camilla easily snapped it in two with her hands. She began to entertain and calm herself by finding objects that she could break.

…

Trying to use stealth, Elise hid behind every corner she saw. She was surprised by the lack of guards. Perhaps, it was a small group that was attacking them? As soon as that thought had passed through her mind, she heard voices from close by. Quickly hiding behind a corner, she tried to pick up what they were saying. Maybe they had the keys?

"Man, the boss really is a genius."

"Yeah, without him, I doubt any of our plans would have worked."

As the two came closer, she could hear the distinct sound of jingling. That had to be the keys! Peaking her head out just slightly, she spotted them strapped on to one of the guard's belts. Now, how was she going to retrieve them?

"You know, one of us should probably have stayed there."

"Why?"

"Because that boy is reported to be a genius! You should know that."

"So? There's no way out of there."

"Well, that little girl was pretty shrimpy, what if she could fit through?"

"Nah, no way, but let's go check, just in case."

Elise's mind went in a panic. If they went back now, they'd see she was gone! What was she going to do?! The only thing she could think of was steal the keys and beat them there. Luckily, she found a long stick on the ground. Picking it up, she attempted to pull the keys off the belt. The two were still chatting away and didn't seem to be paying attention. Carefully, carefully, she slid the keys off the belt and downwards to her.

As soon as they reached her hands, she bolted and the two guards were none the wiser. Thank goodness she remembered the way back to the cell, as she rushed over with not nearly as much stealth as she had coming from there.

"Leo! We gotta hurry, they're coming!" Elise nearly exclaimed, fiddling with the keys and turning the lock.

"Did they see you?" Leo asked.

"No," She shook her head. "But they're coming back here!"

"Okay, calm down." Leo said, pushing open the heavy door and sliding out.

"Hey wait, will you be okay?"

"Yes, I'll be fine. As long as they don't get too close, so let's go."

His run-ins with dizziness did not affect his stamina. It was the stress from dangerous situations that did it. But he wasn't about to allow that to happen, especially after Elise had done her part well. The two siblings took off. Leo took the lead but most of stealth that would have been helpful before was unhelpful now so he didn't use it. They heard voices in the distance but didn't let that make them slow down.

This place was not so easily escaped from though. There were too many twists and turns and even Leo was having trouble keeping track of whether they were closer or further from the exit. They stopped a moment for a short break, a bit out of breath, especially Elise.

"…huff… Are we lost?"

"No… of course not. Just give me a moment."

The fact that the hallway they had stopped at was one that was quite spacious made Leo a bit nervous. He saw a closet and opened it to see if there were their weapons, or any weapons, inside. Inside he found both Byrnhildr and Elise's tome. Was this good fortunate or was there some mastermind behind this whole escapade? He tried not to think about that, as he'd hate to leave without his legendary tome.

Handing Elise back her own tome, his senses went into defensive and he yanked Elise out of harm's way. A magical whizzing arrow-shaped blast struck the wall behind where Elise was a second ago. Elise blinked at a spot a couple of seconds in shock as Leo looked forward at the attacker.

"You know, this is the third time you've foiled my plans." The voice spoke, tipped with annoyed malice but also a bit of amusement.

….

Only a few minutes later, Xander was in the room. He must have already known what happened, but what met him there still stunned him for a few seconds.

"I… apologize, Sister. I should never had left here." Xander apologized.

"It's not your fault, dear." She replied, but making no move to get up from the chair she sat in. "If anything it's my fault that I couldn't fight them off."

"No, it is no one's fault." Xander grimaced, calculating his words and frowning so deeply, his face almost swam in it. "What exactly happened here? Are you injured?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine." Camilla started. "They swarmed us and took our dear siblings Leo and Elise. The only thing I did manage is to protect Corrin from them."

"It is fortunate you were able to save him." Xander said, fearful for moving him as his siblings had been. He glanced around at the destruction of many, many things in the room. Had they really done damage so extensive? He also noticed that most of the damage had been moved out of one section of the room and he easily figured out why.

"Are you sure you're alright? With damage this reaching-"

"Oh, that was just me venting." Camilla brushed off.

Xander had never been this relieved in his life that Camilla did not vent her furious rage on her siblings. The last thing he needed was a rage fury from his only sibling that wasn't kidnapped or incapacitated. If it got her to calm down, he had no qualms with destroying already broken objects and furniture parts.

"Well, if you're feeling calm enough. I require your assistance."

"Of course, anything that will help rescue our siblings or decimate the culprits, I'm more than ready for, Brother."

….

"So, you're the leader behind all this?" Leo inquired, detaching from Elise and holding Byrnhildr by its spine.

"That would be correct, _Prince_ of _Nohr._ " There was no mistaking the malice in his voice.

"Hey!" Elise spoke up. "Just because you hate Nohr and stuff doesn't mean you can do such bad things to us! Think about all the people Xander is help-"

"Elise." Leo interrupted. "This isn't the sort of person you can reason with. The only thing he understands is brute force."

"Ha, that's exactly right." He grinned demonically in a way that reminded Leo of his older sister's grins, though not quite as terrifying. "Since you two refuse to remain prisoners, the only other choice is obvious."

A battle did not appeal to Leo in his state but he soon saw that he had no choice.

"You say that the _King_ is helping people for anything but his own personal gain? It's hard to believe such a moral man could come from such an evil one, isn't it?"

When one saw the whole picture, it wasn't too hard to believe.

"It's all simply an act and you all actors. If you truly believe anything else, you're all fools. Not that I believe any of you are even remotely close to _moral_."

Maybe Leo had been around his older sister too much lately. But, he felt a streak of anger rising up at such negative things said about _his_ family; the same family that had been enjoying each of their peaceful lives before he came along. If Leo could defeat him right here and now, it would all be over and they could return to their peaceful lives. After all of them had been through so much, he refused to allow anything to happen to any of them. No, it was over here and now.

"Such s _trong_ accusations, but do you process the strength to back them up?" Leo smirked wryly, itching to get all of it over with.

"Of course. Let's get started then, shall we?"

…

He had been more powerful and sneaky than expected but Leo and Elise had managed to best him without injury and without fainting. Well, at least until the battle was over. When it was over, the dizziness came over Leo again and he had to sit down to avoid fainting _again_.

"Are you okay?" Elise concerned, kneeling beside him.

"Yes, just… give me a minute."

In a few minutes, the dizzy spell passed and Leo was ready to get going.

"Alright, let's go." Leo said, carefully pulling himself up. He wanted to get back as soon as possible out of concern for his brother and sister. He also, didn't want to remind Elise of that but she still seemed to remember right after the danger had passed.

"Okay." Elise said.

…

Once the two had returned, (and learned of the safety of their siblings), Camilla and Xander went out to meet them. Utterly overjoyed by her two darlings return, Camilla enveloped them both in an embrace.

"Thank goodness you two are safe!" She exclaimed.

"It's great to see you too!" Elise smiled warmly ear to ear as she attached herself to her older sister. Leo, though overjoyed and smiling as well, was not comfortable with hugs. Though, he thought it a better idea to wait until Camilla released him than squirm out. He didn't know how, but she seemed to somehow be able to make her grip so firm it was impossible to undo yet also not painful or crushing. He did not desire to expend the energy, it wasn't worth it.

"Yes." Xander agreed, also smiling more brightly than he had in a while. "I am also utterly relieved to find you both unharmed."

Camilla released the two of them, much to Leo's relief, and Elise began to start talking.

"It's all thanks to Leo! He's amazing!"

"It wasn't _all_ me." Leo replied, refusing to take all of the credit.

"And we beat the boss together!"

"The boss?" Xander questioned. "You mean the-"

"Yes. We have reason to believe that at least most of the danger is past." Leo replied, smiling a little. "He was the mastermind. Without him, I'm sure it'll fall apart almost, if not completely."

Elise nodded happily.

"So we can be a peaceful, big, happy family again!" Elise was absolutely beaming.

Xander couldn't help but smile as well at the thought. Not only because of peace but also since he'd never had an 'error' in judgment ever turn out better than if he'd hadn't done it.

Some time passed…

Camilla (with Xander supervising) had finished weeding out all those who took place in the attack. Corrin was beginning to recover from his injuries. As soon as she was permitted, Elise talked his ear off about all that had happened and how cool everyone was. She did this as to tell him the knowledge in a light manner, (since he grew more concerned about what took place by the day.) Leo had claimed that she was over exaggerating.

"I apologize for not being there to help." Corrin apologized.

"Oh, no it's okay, Big Brother! We got through just fine didn't we?" Elise smiled, reassuringly. "I mean you've helped us with so many things! You don't need to feel bad."

"I agree, since it was my responsibility." Leo seconded.

"Leo, you know I don't blame you."

"Of course you don't." Leo replied. "I would be shocked if you did."

If Corrin had been angry with him when he had still felt dizzy, he probably would have fainted again. It would be from shock far more than stress though. Thankfully, he no longer held such problems.

Camilla entered the room, (thankfully a different one from the one she's demolished the rest of the way.)

"How's my darling baby brother doing? Well, I hope."

"Yes, thanks to all of you for keeping me company." Corrin smiled. All of them had, even Xander, visited him quite often. Elise hardly ever left too.

"Good, because I've brought a special guest," Camilla smiled.

Xander entered the room, as Camilla hadn't closed the door quite yet.

"I'm relieved to hear you are doing well." Xander smiled. Corrin glanced at the papers under Xander's arms and smiled wider.

"You're staying for a while?" He asked.

"Yes, as we haven't been all together at once for a while."

"Yay! We'll all together just like we should!" Elise smiled widely. "We should all play a game together!"

"What type of game?" Leo asked, wondering what game had five people and Corrin could play at the moment.

"Don't worry! I made up one just for this occasion!" Elise smiled broadly, picking up a large box out from under Corrin's bed.

"You made a whole game? Darling, I'm impressed." Camilla complimented. "I'd love to give it a try."

"Well, maybe I had a little help." Elise admitted sheepishly.

"I'm all for a game." Corrin agreed.

"I don't mind, I suppose. It's that what Corrin wants." Leo said.

Elise shared at Xander with puppy dog eyes.

"…Alright. I can multitask." Xander gave in.

And so, the whole family set down to play Elise's creation, enjoying their peace again just as before.

 _Fin_


End file.
